Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Tiny
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Runners
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

Canada mayflower is a low-growing woodland perennial that carpets boreal and temperate forest floors across North America, spreading by rhizomes into dense colonies. Each spring it bears a fluffy cluster of tiny star-shaped white flowers on a zigzag stem, followed by red-speckled berries that ripen by late summer.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Genus: Maianthemum
Species: Maianthemum canadense